Systems and methods for determining microphone position

ABSTRACT

A method for determining a relative position of a microphone may include capturing speech audio from a user&#39;s mouth with the microphone so that the microphone outputs an electrical signal indicative of the speech audio; determining an indication of a position of the microphone relative to the user&#39;s mouth, which may include providing a plurality of inputs to a computerized discriminative classifier, wherein an input of the plurality of inputs is derived from the electrical signal, and wherein an output from the computerized discriminative classifier is indicative of the position of the microphone relative to the user&#39;s mouth.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to a microphone for receiving averbal utterances from a user's mouth and, more particularly, toautomated systems and methods for determining the proximity of themicrophone to the user's mouth.

BACKGROUND

An example of an advantage provided by speech recognition equipment isthat a person can use speech recognition equipment to verballycommunicate with a computer in a hands-free manner. For example, aperson may verbally communicate with the computer by way of a microphonethat is part of a headset, or the like. A factor in the accuracy of suchcommunicating can be the position of the microphone relative to theuser's mouth. For example, best results may be achieved when themicrophone is positioned in an optimal position relative to the user'smouth. However, there can be a wide variety of reasons why a user doesnot position the microphone in the optimal position, such as the user'sinexperience or forgetfulness, the optimal position varying in responseto different environmental noises or different equipment setups, or thelike.

Therefore, there is a need for a system and method for automaticallydetermining the approximate position of a microphone relative to auser's mouth, for example in real time, so that the determined positionmay be considered in determining whether corrective positionaladjustments to the microphone may increase the functionality of thespeech recognition equipment, and the determined position may beconsidered in performance metrics (e.g., analysis of speech recognitionperformance).

SUMMARY

In one aspect, the present invention embraces a method for determining arelative position of a microphone, the method comprising: capturingspeech audio from a user's mouth with the microphone so that themicrophone outputs an electrical signal indicative of the speech audio;determining an indication of a position of the microphone relative tothe user's mouth, comprising providing a plurality of inputs to acomputerized discriminative classifier, wherein an input of theplurality of inputs is derived from the electrical signal, and whereinan output from the computerized discriminative classifier is indicativeof the position of the microphone relative to the user's mouth.

In an embodiment, the method comprises a computer determining whetherthe determined indication of the position of the microphone isunacceptable; and the computer providing a signal in response to thecomputer determining that the determined indication of the position ofthe microphone is unacceptable.

In an embodiment, the method comprises a computer deriving the inputfrom the electrical signal.

In an embodiment, the method comprises calculating a Fouriertransformation on data selected from the group consisting of theelectrical signal and data derived from the electrical signal.

In an embodiment, the input comprises results from the calculating ofthe Fourier transformation.

In an embodiment, the input is derived from results from the calculatingof the Fourier transformation.

In an embodiment, the method comprises decoding a phoneme from dataselected from the group consisting of the electrical signal and dataderived from the electrical signal.

In an embodiment, the input comprises the phoneme, and the decoding ofthe phoneme is comprised of using a text-to-phoneme engine.

In an embodiment, the method comprises deriving first and second inputsof the plurality of inputs from the electrical signal; and weighting thefirst input more heavily than any weighting of the second input in thecomputerized discriminative classifier.

In an embodiment, the method comprises providing first and secondphenomes that are different from one another, comprising performingtext-to-phenome conversions, wherein the first input comprises the firstphenome, and wherein the second input comprises the second phenome.

In another aspect, the present invention embraces a method fordetermining a relative position of a microphone, the method comprising:providing a plurality of inputs to a discriminative classifierimplemented on a computer, the plurality of inputs comprising dataselected from the group consisting of an electrical signal output fromthe microphone in response to the microphone capturing speech audio froma user's mouth while the microphone is at a position relative to theuser's mouth, and data derived from the electrical signal; the computerreceiving an output from the discriminative classifier, the outputproviding an indication of the position of the microphone relative tothe user's mouth; and the computer determining whether the indicatedposition of the microphone is unacceptable, and providing a signal ifthe indicated position of the microphone is unacceptable.

In an embodiment, the microphone is part of a head set that comprises aspeaker, and the method comprises the speaker providing an audioindication that the position of the microphone is unacceptable, whereinthe speaker providing the audio indication is in response to thecomputer providing the signal.

In an embodiment, the method comprises deriving the input from theelectrical signal, wherein the input is selected from the groupconsisting of a Fourier transform and a phenome.

In another aspect, the present invention embraces a method fordetermining a relative position of a microphone, the method comprising:capturing speech audio from a user's mouth with the microphone so thatthe microphone outputs an electrical signal indicative of the speechaudio; a computer deriving a plurality of inputs from the electricalsignal; determining an indication of a position of the microphonerelative to the user's mouth, comprising providing at least theplurality of inputs to a discriminative classifier implemented on thecomputer; the computer receiving an output from the discriminativeclassifier, the output providing an indication of the position of themicrophone relative to the user's mouth; and the computer determiningwhether the indicated position of the microphone is unacceptable, andproviding a signal if the indicated position of the microphone isunacceptable.

In an embodiment, the method comprises the computer calculating aFourier transformation on data selected from the group consisting of theelectrical signal and data derived from the electrical signal, whereinan input of the plurality of inputs comprises results from thecalculating of the Fourier transformation.

In an embodiment, the method comprises the computer calculating aFourier transformation on data selected from the group consisting of theelectrical signal and data derived from the electrical signal, whereinan input of the plurality of inputs is derived from results from thecalculating of the Fourier transformation.

In an embodiment, the method comprises the computer decoding a phonemefrom data selected from the group consisting of the electrical signaland data derived from the electrical signal, wherein an input of theplurality of inputs comprises the phoneme.

In an embodiment, the method comprises the computer decoding the phonemeusing a text-to-phoneme engine.

In an embodiment, the method comprises deriving first and second inputsof the plurality of inputs from the electrical signal; and weighting thefirst input more heavily than any weighting of the second input in thediscriminative classifier.

In an embodiment, the method comprises providing first and secondphenomes that are different from one another, comprising performingtext-to-phenome conversions, wherein the first input comprises the firstphenome, and the second input comprises the second phenome.

The foregoing illustrative summary, as well as other exemplaryobjectives and/or advantages of the invention, and the manner in whichthe same are accomplished, are further explained within the followingdetailed description and its accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a representative headsetassembly, wherein several different microphone positions are shown, inaccordance with an embodiment of this disclosure.

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of a system that includes the headsetassembly of FIG. 1, in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 3 illustrates a flow diagram of methods of collecting training dataand test data for use with a discriminative classifier trainer and adiscriminative classifier model, respectively, wherein both sets of datacan include speech-based audio signals and microphone position data, inaccordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 4 illustrates a flow diagram of an example of a method of using thetraining data associated with FIG. 3 and the discriminative classifiertrainer to create the discriminative classifier model, so that thediscriminative classifier model is configured to provide an indicationof a position of a microphone relative to a user's mouth.

FIG. 5 generally illustrates a block diagram of the inputs and outputsof the discriminative classifier trainer, in accordance with thetraining method of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 illustrates a flow diagram of an example of a method of using thetest data associated with FIG. 3 to test the effectiveness of thediscriminative classifier model for accuracy, wherein FIG. 5 isgenerally illustrative of the inputs and outputs of the discriminativeclassifier model associated with the testing method of FIG. 6.

FIG. 7 illustrates a flow diagram of an example of a method of using thediscriminative classifier model to indirectly determine the approximateposition of the microphone relative to a user's mouth, and initiatingany associated corrective repositioning of the microphone, wherein FIG.5 is generally illustrative of the inputs and outputs of thediscriminative classifier model associated with the position-checkingmethod of FIG. 7.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention is generally directed to systems and methods forautomatically determining a position of a microphone relative to auser's mouth, so that the determined position may be considered indetermining whether corrective positional adjustments to the microphonemay increase the functionality of an associated speech recognitionmodule. In addition or alternatively, the determined position may beconsidered in performance metrics (e.g., analysis of speech recognitionperformance). In an embodiment of this disclosure, such a system forautomatically determining the approximate position of the microphone canbe part of a larger system that can include a mobile device, and themobile device can be a headset assembly that includes the microphone.The mobile device, or headset assembly, can be associated with a voicerecognition module configured for allowing the mobile device to be usedin a hands-free manner. Alternatively, the mobile device can be manuallycarried or mounted to a movable piece of equipment, such as a cart beingused by a worker.

In FIG. 1, an example of a mobile device in the form of a headsetassembly 10 is shown as including an electronics module 12 and a headset15, in accordance with an embodiment of this disclosure. Whereas themobile device described in this detailed description is frequentlyreferred to as the headset assembly 10, a variety of different types ofsuitable mobile devices are within the scope of this disclosure, such assmartphones, smartwatches or other suitable devices.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the headset 15 includes a frame, andthe frame comprises a headband 17 for securing the headset to the user'shead. Alternatively, the frame, headband 17 or other suitable fasteningor mounting features can be configured to fit in an ear, over an ear, orotherwise be designed to support the headset 15, or the like. Theheadset 15 can further include at least one speaker 20 connected to theheadset frame or headband 17, and one or more microphones 25, 26connected to the headset frame or headband. For example, in oneconfiguration, the main microphone 25 can be configured to be proximatethe user's mouth, for converting voice sounds from the user into anelectrical signal. In contrast, the optional secondary microphone 26 canbe configured to be distant from the user's mouth, for use in receivingbackground or environmental sounds, such as for use in cancelling outenvironmental sounds to enhance voice recognition associated with themain microphone 25.

The position of the main microphone 25 relative to the user's mouth maybe adjustable, such as by adjusting the position of the headset frame orheadband 17 relative to the user's head. For example, in one embodiment,the main microphone 25 can be fixed in position relative to the headsetframe or headband 17, so that during positional adjustments of theheadset frame or headband the main microphone moves with the headsetframe or headband relative to the user's head and, thus, relative to theuser's mouth. In contrast or addition, as schematically shown withdashed lines in FIG. 1, the main microphone 25 can be movably mounted tothe headset frame or headband 17, so that the position of the mainmicrophone can be simultaneously adjusted relative to both the headband17 and the user's mouth. For example and shown in FIG. 1, the mainmicrophone 25 can be fixedly mounted to an outer end of a “boom arm” orextension rod 27, and the inner end of the extension rod can bepivotably connected to the headset frame, headband 17, or anothersuitable feature of the headset 15; and/or the extension rod may beflexible, so that the position of the main microphone can be adjustedbetween numerous positions relative to the user's mouth. Examples ofsome of the adjustable positions of the outer end of the extension rod27 and main microphone 25 are schematically illustrated in dashed linesin FIG. 1, wherein the position of the main microphone shown in solidlines may be an optimal position for voice recognition, and thepositions of the main microphone shown in dashed lines may be lessoptimal positions that are too close or too far from the user's mouth.

The electronics module 12 of the headset assembly 10 can contain orotherwise carry several components of the headset assembly to reduce theweight and/or size of the headset 15. In some embodiments, theelectronics module 12 can include one or more of a rechargeable or longlife battery, keypad, antenna (e.g., Bluetooth® antenna), printedcircuit board assembly, and any other suitable electronics, or the like,as discussed in greater detail below. The electronics module 12 can bereleasably mounted to a user's torso or in any other suitable locationfor being carried by the user, typically in a hands-free manner. Theelectronics module 12 can utilize a user-configurable fastener orattachment feature 28, such as a belt clip, lapel clip, loop, lanyardand/or other suitable features, for at least partially facilitatingattachment of the electronics module to the user. The headset 15 can beconnected to the electronics module 12 via a communication link, such asa small audio cable 30 or a wireless link.

For example and not for the purpose of limiting the scope of thisdisclosure, the headset 10 can be used to support multiple workflows inmultiple markets, including grocery retail, direct store delivery,wholesale, etc. In some embodiments, the headset 10 has a low profilethat seeks not to be intimidating to a customer in a retail setting.That is, the headset 15 can be relatively minimalistic in appearance insome embodiments, or alternatively the headset 15 can have a largerprofile in other embodiments. The electronics module 12 can be used witha wide variety of differently configured headsets, such as Vocollect™headsets.

The electronics module 12 can be configured to read a unique identifier(I.D.) of the headset 15. The headset I.D. can be stored in anelectronic circuitry package that is part of the headset 15, and theheadset electronic circuitry package can be configured to at leastpartially provide the connection (e.g., communication path(s)) betweenthe electronics module 12 and headset features (e.g., the one or morespeakers 20 and microphones 25, 26). In one embodiment, the audio cable30 includes multiple conductors or communication lines, such as forproviding audio signals from the electronics module 12 to the headset 15(i.e. the speakers 20), and providing audio signals from the headset(i.e., the microphones 25, 26) to the electronics module. When awireless communications link between the headset 15 and electronicsmodule 12 is used, such as a wireless local area network (e.g., aBluetooth® type of communication link), the headset 15 can include asmall lightweight battery and other suitable features. The wirelesscommunication link can provide wireless signals suitable for exchangingvoice communications. In an embodiment (not shown), the electronicsmodule 12 can be integrated into the headset 15 rather than being remotefrom, and connected to, the headset 15. Accordingly, the mobile device,which may more specifically be in the form of the headset assembly 10,or the like, may include multiple pieces with separate housings or canbe substantially contained in, or otherwise be associated with, a singlehousing.

In the embodiment schematically shown in FIG. 2, the headset assembly 10is part of a distributed system 40 that further includes a terminal,server computer 42, or the like, connected to the electronics module 12via a wireless line or communication path 44, such as a Bluetooth®connection. The system 40 is configured for providing communicationswith at least one user. For example, the user can be wearing the headset15 on her or his head so that the speakers 20 are proximate the user'sears, the main microphone 25 is proximate the user's mouth, andcommunications can be traveling in both directions across thecommunication path 44, as discussed in greater detail below.

As indicated above and discussed in greater detail below, theelectronics module 12 can contain or otherwise carry several components(e.g., software, firmware and/or hardware) of the headset assembly 10.In this regard, the housing or frame of the electronics module 12 isschematically represented by an outer block in FIG. 2, and components ofthe electronics module are schematically represented by a series ofblocks that are shown within the outer block that represents the housingor frame electronics module. For example, the above-mentioned printedcircuit board assembly of the electronics module 12 can includeprocessing circuitry in the form of one or more suitable processors orcentral processing units. In addition, the electronics module 12 caninclude an audio input/output circuit or stage that is appropriatelycoupled to the headset 15 for coupling the electronics module processingcircuitry with the microphones 25, 26 and speaker 20. The processor ofthe electronics module 12 can be operatively associated with one or morememory elements that can contain one or more software modules for beingexecuted by the processor of the electronics module. The processingcircuitry of the electronics module 12 typically includes a suitableradio, such as a wireless local area network radio (e.g., Bluetooth®),for coupling to the computer 40 as indicated by the communication path44, although other suitable communication networks may be used.

The computer 42 can be one or more computers, such as a series ofcomputers connected to one another in a wired and/or wireless mannerover a network, such as a wireless local area network, to form adistributed computer system. More generally, throughout this documentany reference to an article (e.g., computer 42) encompasses one or moreof that article, unless indicated otherwise. As a specific example, andnot for the purpose of limiting the scope of this disclosure, thecomputer 42 can comprise a retail store computer having applications anddata for managing operations of the retail store (e.g., an enterprisesystem, such as a retail management system, inventory management systemor the like), including inventory control and other functions, such aspoint of sale functions.

In an embodiment, the computer 42 is configured to simultaneouslyinterface with multiple of the headset assemblies 10, and thereby theusers respectively associated with the headset assemblies, tosimultaneously provide one or more work tasks or workflows that can berelated to products or other items being handled by the users (e.g.,workers) in a workplace (e.g., a retail store, warehouse, restaurant, orthe like). The computer 42 can be located at one facility or bedistributed at geographically distinct facilities. Furthermore, thecomputer 42 may include a proxy server. Therefore, the computer 42 isnot limited in scope to a specific configuration. For example, andalternatively, each of the headset assemblies 10 can substantially be astand-alone device, such that the computers 42 or suitable featuresthereof are part of the headset assemblies. Usually, however, to havesufficient database capability to simultaneously handle large amounts ofinformation that can be associated with multiple headset assemblies 10being operated simultaneously, the computer 42 typically comprises aserver computer configured to simultaneously interface with multiple ofthe headset assemblies (e.g., mobile devices).

As alluded to above, the computer 42 can contain or otherwise carryseveral components (e.g., software, firmware and/or hardware). In thisregard and as shown in FIG. 2, components of the computer 42 areschematically represented by a series of blocks that are within an outerblock that schematically represents the computer 42 as a whole. Thecomputer 42 typically includes a suitable radio, such as a wirelesslocal area network radio (e.g., Bluetooth®), for coupling to theelectronics module 12, as indicated by the communication path 44,although other suitable communication networks may be used.Additionally, the computer 42 can include one or more processing units,memory (e.g., volatile memory and non-volatile memory), and removableand non-removable storage (e.g., random access memory (RAM), read onlymemory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM) &electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flashmemory or other memory technologies, compact disc read-only memory (CDROM), Digital Versatile Disks (DVD) or other optical disk storage,magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or othermagnetic storage devices, or any other medium capable of storingcomputer-readable instructions). Although the various data storageelements may be an integral part of the computer 42, the storage canalso or alternatively include cloud-based storage accessible via anetwork, such as the Internet. The computer 42 can include or haveaccess to a computing environment that includes one or more outputs andinputs. The output can include a display device, such as a touchscreen,that also can serve as an input device. The input can include one ormore of a touchscreen, touchpad, mouse, keyboard, camera, one or moredevice-specific buttons, one or more sensors integrated within orcoupled via wired or wireless data connections to the computer, andother input devices. For example, the computer 42 can comprise apersonal computer, desktop, laptop, server, smartphone, tablet, headset,smartwatch, and/or other suitable device(s).

As alluded to above, the system 40 can be used in variousspeech-directed/speech-assisted work environments. Accordingly, theprocessor of the computer 42 can execute or run one or more speechrecognition (e.g., speech-to-text) software modules and/ortext-to-speech software modules, although one or more of these softwaremodules may be executed on the electronics module 12 instead. Morespecifically, the computer 42 can include a speech recognition module,or more specifically a speech-to-text decoder, configured to transformelectronic audio signals, which are generated by the main microphone 25capturing speech audio from the user's mouth, into text data, or thelike. For example, speech-to-text decoder can include voice templatesthat are stored in the computer 42 and configured to recognize uservoice interactions and convert the interaction into text-based data.That text-based data can be utilized as information or instructions forinteracting with at least one software application or module beingexecuted on the computer 42. Both the above-discussed and thebelow-discussed functions ascribed to individual components of thesystem 40 can be performed in one or more other locations in furtherembodiments. For example, the computer 42 can perform voice recognitionin one embodiment, or the electronics module 12 can perform voicerecognition utilizing the voice templates. In one embodiment, the firststages of voice recognition can be performed on the electronics module12, with further stages performed on the computer 42. In furtherembodiments, raw audio can be transmitted from the electronics module 12to the computer 42 where the voice recognition is completed.

Functionality of (e.g., accuracy of the transforming performed by) thespeech-to-text decoder of the system 40 may depend upon the position ofthe main microphone 25 relative to the user's mouth, wherein examples ofa variety of different positions of the main microphone are shown inFIG. 1. In this regard, an aspect of this disclosure is the provision ofsystems and methods for automatically determining the approximateposition of the main microphone 25 relative to a user's mouth, so that,in one example, the determined position may be considered in determiningwhether corrective positional adjustments to the main microphone mayincrease the functionality of speech-to-text decoder. In this regard,the computer 42 can further include a discriminative classifier model(e.g., the computerized discriminative classifier feature 305 of FIG. 5)configured to determine an indication of a position of the mainmicrophone 25 relative to the user's mouth. The discriminativeclassifier model can be any suitable discriminative classifier model,such as, but not limited to, a neural network model. Reiterating fromabove, throughout this document any reference to an article encompassesone or more of that article, unless indicated otherwise. For example,embodiments of this disclosure can include one or more discriminativeclassifier models, neural network models and/or the like.

An overall method of an embodiment of this disclosure can include a datacollecting method 100 (FIG. 3), a training method 200 (FIG. 4), atesting method 400 (FIG. 6), and a position-checking method 500 (FIG.7). As an example and for ease of description, and not for the purposeof narrowing the scope of this disclosure, in the following the datacollecting method 100 (FIG. 3), training method 200 (FIG. 4) and testingmethod 400 (FIG. 6) are discussed in the context of the system 40including the above-discussed computer 42. However, one or morecomputers other than or in addition to the computer 42 can be used in atleast the methods 100, 200 and 400. A very brief discussion of themethods 100, 200, 400, 500 is followed by more detailed discussions.

Generally described, the data collecting method 100 can be used tocollect both a set of training data used in the training method 200, anda set of test data used in the testing method 400. The training method200 can be used to create the discriminative classifier model using adiscriminative classifier trainer (e.g. the computerized discriminativeclassifier trainer 305 of FIG. 5). The testing method 400 can be used totest the effectiveness of the discriminative classifier model, such asprior to putting the discriminative classifier model to use in thefield. The position-checking method 500 can use the discriminativeclassifier model to indirectly determine the approximate position of themicrophone 25 (FIG. 1) relative to a user's mouth, and can initiate anyassociated corrective repositioning of the microphone.

Referring to FIG. 3, the data collecting method 100 can be performed sothat the training data and the test data are collected in substantiallythe same manner, so that both of these data sets include at leastspeech-based audio signals and data about the position of the mainmicrophone 25 relative to a user's mouth. In one embodiment, none oftraining data is used as part of the testing data, and none of thetesting data is used as part of the training data.

At block 105 of the data collecting method 100, the main microphone 25of a headset 15 being worn by a user captures speech audio from theuser's mouth, and the headset assembly 10 responsively provides anelectrical signal indicative of the speech audio to the computer 42,wherein the electrical signal can be an electronic audio signal. Atsubstantially the same time that the headset assembly 10 responsivelyprovides the audio signal of block 105 (e.g., in real time), at block110 the computer 42 can receive the audio signal from block 105. Also ator associated with block 110, the computer 42 can obtain or receive datafor one or more contextual variables that may be useful as inputs forthe discriminative classifier trainer and/or the discriminativeclassifier model, depending upon whether training or test data is beingcollected. The data for the one or more contextual variables associatedwith block 110 can be referred to as contextual data. The contextualvariables may include one or more of the measured position of the mainmicrophone 25 relative to the user's mouth (e.g., the actual, manuallymeasured distance between the main microphone and the user's mouth), anygain setting of the system 40 (e.g., for increasing the power oramplitude of the electronic audio signal originating at block 105), aclassification of the background noise (e.g., identification of thefrequency content of the background noise) and/or any other suitableinformation. It is typical for the contextual data that is in possessionof the computer 42 at block 110 to have originated at the same time asthe occurrence of block 105, or otherwise be representative ofconditions occurring at block 105. For example, the measured position ofthe main microphone 25 relative to the user's mouth, or morespecifically the distance between the main microphone and the user'smouth, may be manually measured with a ruler or any other suitabledevice while the microphone is positioned as it was at the occurrence ofblock 105, and the measured distance may be input to the computer 42 byway of a suitable input device of the computer.

Processing control is transferred from block 110 to block 115. At block115, the data (typically including at least the audio signal and themeasured position of the main microphone 25 relative to the user'smouth) received at block 110 is identified as being part of a data unitand stored in at least one database (e.g., a relational database) of, orotherwise associated with, the computer 42. In the data unit created atblock 115, the audio signal of block 110 may be identified as the maindata of the data unit, and the data unit can further include metadata,and the metadata may comprise the measured position of the mainmicrophone 25 relative to the user's mouth, and any other suitablecontextual data. As mentioned above, the computer 42 may be in the formof a distributed computer system. Similarly, one or more databasesassociated with the computer 42 can be in the form of a distributeddatabase system.

In one embodiment, the data collecting method 100 is repeated numeroustimes for numerous different users. For each user, the speech audioand/or one or more of the contextual variables (e.g., the measuredposition of the microphone 25 (FIG. 1)) can be changed for eachoccurrence of the method 100 to provide numerous different data units,so that the audio signals and/or contextual data vary from data unit todata unit in a manner that seeks to optimize the training of thediscriminative classifier model with the discriminative classifiertrainer. For example, some of the users speaking into the microphone 25at block 105 can be female, others can be male, and they will typicallyuse a variety of different positions for the microphone 25 (e.g., asschematically shown in FIG. 1), and they can vary their speech levels(e.g., sometimes speak relatively softly, and sometimes speak relativelyloudly).

As shown in FIG. 1, the different positions of the microphone 25 caninclude an inner position in which the microphone may be in contactwith, or almost in contact with, the user's mouth; an intermediateposition in which the microphone can be about one inch away from theuser's mouth, which may be the preferred or optimal position; and anouter position in which the microphone can be about two inches away fromthe user's mouth. For each user, the data collecting method 100 can berepeated at least three times, for example with the microphone 25 beingin the inner position during a first occurrence of the data collectingmethod and the creation of a first data unit, the microphone being inthe intermediate position during a second occurrence of the datacollecting method and the creation of a second data unit, and themicrophone being in the outer position during a third occurrence of thedata collecting method and the creation of a third data unit.

The data units resulting from performance of the method 100 can begenerally segregated into two groups or respectively stored in twodatabases of, or associated with, the computer 42. For example, a firstgroup of the data units can be referred to as training data units thatare used in the training method 200 of FIG. 4, and a second group of thedata units can be referred to as testing data units that are used in thetesting method 400 of FIG. 6, as discussed in greater detail below. Inone embodiment, each data unit is contained in either the first group orthe second group, so that none of the data units are included in both ofthe first and second groups. For example, the training data units can becontained in, or otherwise associated with, a training database; whereasthe testing data units can be contained in, or otherwise associatedwith, a testing database. In addition, the training data units andtraining database can include transcriptions of what was spoken by theusers when providing the training data.

In an embodiment described in the following, the training method 200 ofFIG. 4 is performed by the computer 42 to create the discriminativeclassifier model. Referring to FIG. 4 in greater detail, at block 205,processing circuitry of the computer 42 obtains a training data unit,which was produced in accordance with the data collection method 100 ofFIG. 3, from the respective database, or the like. Processing control istransferred from block 205 to block 210. At block 210, data is derivedfrom the audio signal of the training data unit received at block 205,as discussed in greater detail below with reference to FIG. 5.Processing control is transferred from block 210 to block 215. At block215, contextual data from the training data unit of block 205 andderived data from block 210 are provided as inputs to the discriminativeclassifier trainer, as discussed in greater detail below with referenceto FIG. 5. Blocks 205, 210 and 215 may be looped through numerous timesrespectively for each training data unit so that the discriminativeclassifier trainer creates the discriminative classifier model, asdiscussed in greater detail below with reference to FIG. 5. From thelast occurrence of block 215, processing control can be transferred toblock 220, at which time the computer 42 receives the discriminativeclassifier model.

In one embodiment, the portions of the training method 200 representedby blocks 210, 215 and 220 can be further understood with reference toFIG. 5, and the discriminative classifier feature represented by block305 in FIG. 5 is the discriminative classifier trainer. Similarly and aswill be discussed in greater detail below, respective blocks of thetesting method 400 (FIG. 6) and position-checking method 500 (FIG. 7)can be further understood with reference to FIG. 5, and for the methods400 and 500 the discriminative classifier feature represented by block305 in FIG. 5 is the discriminative classifier model. Accordingly,numerous aspects of the following discussions of FIG. 5 can be generallyapplicable to, or part of, each of the methods 200, 400 and 500, asdiscussed in greater detail below.

Referring to FIG. 5 in greater detail in the context of the trainingmethod 200: the electrical audio signal 310 and contextual data input312 are from the training data unit of block 205 in FIG. 4; the inputs315, 320, 325, 330 to the discriminative classifier trainer 305 arederived from the electrical audio signal 310 at block 215 in FIG. 4; andthe output 335 of the discriminative classifier trainer 305 is thediscriminative classifier model of block 220 of FIG. 4. Thediscriminative classifier trainer 305 may be any suitable discriminativeclassifier trainer, such as, but not limited to, a neural network modeltrainer. For example, it is believed that a suitable discriminativeclassifier trainer may be developed using the MATLAB® programminglanguage and/or Neural Network Toolbox™ available from MathWorks, Inc.

In an embodiment described in the following, the testing method 400 ofFIG. 6 is performed by the computer 42 to test the effectiveness of thediscriminative classifier model of block 220 of FIG. 4, such as prior tothe discriminative classifier model being used in the position-checkingmethod 500 of FIG. 7. Referring to FIG. 6 in greater detail, at block405, processing circuitry of the computer 42 obtains a testing dataunit, which was produced in accordance with the data collection method100 of FIG. 3, from the respective database, or the like. Processingcontrol is transferred from block 405 to block 410. At block 410, datais derived from the audio signal of the testing data unit received atblock 405, as discussed in greater detail below with reference to FIG.5. Processing control is transferred from block 410 to block 415. Atblock 415, any predetermined contextual data (e.g., not the measuredposition of the main microphone 25) from the testing data unit of block405 and derived data from block 410 are provided as inputs to thediscriminative classifier model, as discussed in greater detail belowwith reference to FIG. 5. Processing control is transferred from block415 to block 420. At block 420, a discriminative classifier-derivedvalue of the approximate position of the main microphone 25 relative tothe user's mouth (e.g., the distance between the main microphone and theuser's mouth) is received from the discriminative classifier model.

Further regarding the testing method 400 of FIG. 6 that can be used totest the effectiveness of the discriminative classifier model,processing control is transferred from block 420 to block 425. At block425, the discriminative classifier-derived value of the approximateposition of the main microphone 25 is compared to the measured positionof the main microphone 25 identified by the testing data unit of block405. At block 425, a determination can be made as to whether thediscriminative classifier-derived value of the approximate position ofthe main microphone 25 is substantially the same as, or about the sameas, the measured position of the main microphone 25 from the testingdata unit of block 405; or a determination can be made as to whether anydifference between the discriminative classifier-derived value of theapproximate position of the main microphone 25 and the measured positionof the main microphone 25 from the testing data unit of block 405 arewithin an acceptable range. In response to a positive determination atblock 425, the test method 400 may be ended, and then the discriminativeclassifier model may be used in the position-checking method 500 of FIG.7. If a negative determination is made at block 425, processing controlcan be transferred to block 430, such as for initiating adjustments toand/or retraining of the discriminative classifier model. The testingmethod 400 may be looped through numerous times respectively for each ofthe testing data units, and the results of the determining associatedwith block 425 may be averaged or otherwise processed, for example sothat any decision to initiate adjustments to and/or retrain thediscriminative classifier model can be based upon an average or othersuitable statistical analysis.

Referring to FIG. 5 in greater detail in the context of the testingmethod 400: the electrical audio signal 310 and any contextual datainput 312 are from the testing data unit of block 405 in FIG. 6; theinputs 315, 320, 325, 330 to the discriminative classifier model 305 arederived from the electrical audio signal 310 from block 415 in FIG. 6;and the output 335 of the discriminative classifier model 305 is thediscriminative classifier-derived value of the approximate position ofthe main microphone 25, for block 420. Reiterating from above, it isbelieved that, as an example, the discriminative classifier model can bea neural network model. For example, it is believed that a suitabletesting of the discriminative classifier model/neural network model maybe carried out using the MATLAB® programming language and/or NeuralNetwork Toolbox™ available from MathWorks, Inc.

In an embodiment described in the following, the position-checkingmethod 500 of FIG. 7 is performed by the computer 42 to provide anindication of a position of the microphone 25 relative to a user'smouth, and initiate any associated corrective repositioning of themicrophone. In addition or alternatively, the indication of the positionof the microphone 25 relative to a user's mouth may be considered inperformance metrics (e.g., analysis of speech recognition performance).Referring to FIG. 7 in greater detail, at block 505, the main microphone25 of a headset 15 being worn by a user captures speech audio from auser's mouth, and the headset assembly 10 responsively provides anelectrical signal indicative of the speech audio to the computer 42,wherein the electrical signal can be an electronic audio signal. Atsubstantially the same time that the headset assembly 10 responsivelyprovides the audio signal of block 505 (e.g., in real time), at block510 the computer 42 can receive the audio signal from block 505. Also ator associated with block 110, the computer 42 can obtain or receive datafor one or more contextual variables that may be useful as inputs forthe discriminative classifier model. The data for the one or morecontextual variables associated with block 510 can be referred to ascontextual data. For the position-checking method 500, the contextualvariables may include one or more of any gain setting of the system 40(e.g., for increasing the power or amplitude of the electronic audiosignal originating at block 105), a classification of the backgroundnoise (e.g., identification of the frequency content of the backgroundnoise) and/or any other suitable information. It is typical for thecontextual data that is in the possession of the computer 42 at block510 to have originated at the same time as the occurrence of block 505,or otherwise be representative of conditions occurring at block 505.

Processing control is transferred from block 510 to block 515. At block515, data is derived from the audio signal received at block 510, asdiscussed in greater detail below with reference to FIG. 5. Processingcontrol is transferred from block 515 to block 520. At block 520, anycontextual data (e.g., not any measured position of the main microphone25) from block 510 and derived data from block 515 are provided asinputs to the discriminative classifier model, as discussed in greaterdetail below with reference to FIG. 5. Processing control is transferredfrom block 520 to block 525. At block 525, a discriminativeclassifier-derived value of the approximate position of the mainmicrophone 25 relative to the user's mouth (e.g., the approximateddistance between the main microphone and the user's mouth) is receivedfrom the discriminative classifier model.

Processing control is transferred from block 525 to block 530. At block530, the discriminative classifier-derived value of the approximateposition of the main microphone 25 from the user's mouth is compared toan acceptable value or an acceptable range. For example, as discussedabove and as best understood with reference to FIG. 1, an acceptablevalue for block 530 can be indicative of the microphone 25 being aboutone inch away from the user's mouth; an unacceptable value can beindicative of the microphone being in an inner position in which themicrophone may be in contact with, or almost in contact with, the user'smouth; and another unacceptable value can be indicative of themicrophone being in an outer position in which the microphone may beabout two inches away from the user's mouth. For example, an acceptablerange for block 530 can be from a value indicative of the microphone 25being from about half an inch away from the user's mouth to a valueindicative of the microphone being about one and a half inches from theuser's mouth, or any other suitable range. At block 530, if it isdetermined that the discriminative classifier-derived value of theapproximate position of the main microphone 25 from the user's mouth issubstantially close to an acceptable value or within an acceptablerange, the position-checking method 500 can be ended. If a negativedetermination is made at block 530, processing control can betransferred to block 535.

At block 535, the computer 42 can initiate and provide a signal to theheadset assembly 10 by way of the communication path 44. As examples,the signal provided at block 535 can be an audio signal that is receivedby the one or more speakers 20 of the headset 15, so that the speakersprovide an audio indication that the position of the main microphone 25of the headset is unacceptable. More specifically and depending upon thedetermination made at block 530, the signal provided at block 535 to theone or more speakers 20 can be configured so that the speakers providean audio indication that the main microphone 25 should be moved closerto, or farther away from the user's mouth, whichever the case may be.The position-checking method 500 may be looped through numerous timesrespectively for each of the testing data units, words, phonemes or thelike, and the results of the determining associated with block 530 maybe averaged or otherwise processed, so that any decision made at block530 can be based upon an average or other suitable statistical analysis.

The position-checking method 500 of FIG. 7, or the like, can furtherinclude a block or step for providing the discriminativeclassifier-derived value of the approximate position of the mainmicrophone 25 from the user's mouth, which is received at block 525, toone or more other suitable features. For example, the discriminativeclassifier-derived value of the approximate position of the mainmicrophone 25 from the user's mouth may be considered in performancemetrics (e.g., analysis of speech recognition performance). Morespecifically and/or as another example, the discriminativeclassifier-derived value of the approximate position of the mainmicrophone 25 from the user's mouth, which is received at block 525, canbe written to a streaming log, data file, or the like, so that it isavailable for use in any suitable manner, such as analyses ofperformance metrics, or the like. In this regard, the classifier-derivedvalue of the approximate position of the main microphone 25 from theuser's mouth, which is received at block 525, can be recorded along withdata that is indicative of other appropriate information/eventsoccurring at substantially the same time as the associated occurrence ofblock 505.

Referring primarily to FIG. 5, for each of the methods 200, 400 and 500,the deriving of the frequency domain input 315 can comprise the computer42 performing a fast Fourier transform on the electrical audio signal310. For each of the methods 200, 400 and 500, it is believed that thederiving of speaker normalization input 320 can comprise the computer 42performing frequency warping, vocal tract length normalization and/orother suitable normalization function(s) on at least a portion of thefrequency domain input 315. For each of the methods 200, 400 and 500,the deriving of the text input 325 can comprise the computer 42performing speech-to-text decoding on the electrical audio signal 310.For each of the methods 200, 400 and 500, the deriving of the phenomeinput 330 comprise the computer 42 performing a text-to-phoneme decodingor conversion (e.g., with a text-to-phoneme engine) on the text input325. One or more of the above-discussed blocks, actions or inputs can beomitted or rearranged in a suitable manner, and suitable additionalblocks, actions or inputs may be added.

Referring back to the position-checking method 500 of FIG. 7, in oneembodiment the determination made at block 530 can be generallyindicative of whether the position of the microphone 25 is “good” or“bad.” That is, one aspect if this disclosure is the provision ofsystems and methods for classifying whether the position of themicrophone 25 is “good” or “bad.” For example, if a “bad” determinationis made at block 530, the signal provided at block 535 can be an audiosignal in response to which the one or more speakers 20 provide an audioindication that “the position of the microphone 25 should be corrected,”or the like. Alternatively, if a “good” determination is made at block530, the computer 42 can provide a signal in response to which the oneor more speakers 20 provide an audio indication that “the microphone 25position is satisfactory and does not need to be adjusted.

Referring back to the one or more, or plurality, of inputs of FIG. 5(e.g., inputs 312, 315, 320, 325, 330), they can comprise the frequencycontent of the electrical audio signal 310 (e.g., speech signals), inputgain (e.g., any gain setting associated with the electrical audio signal310), the frequency content of the background noise prior to the speech(e.g., spoken utterance), the maximum audio or energy level of theutterance, speaker normalization, and hints. The frequency content ofthe background noise can be is used to decrease the impact of variationin background noise levels and frequency content. The input gain andmaximum audio or energy level of the utterance can be used to decreasethe impact of variations in user speech level. Speaker normalization, ormore specifically a speaker normalization factor, may be used to accountfor gender. The hints can be utilized to increase the probability thatthe classification (e.g., as “good” or “bad”) of the position of themicrophone 25 is being determined on a correctly recognized word orphenome, or the like. For example, the computer 42 can be configured toprovide, and the discriminative classifier features 305 can beconfigured to receive, one or more of such phenomes as inputs of theplurality of inputs.

Using hints can comprise weighting predetermined words of the text input325 more heavily than other words and/or weighting predeterminedphenomes of the phenome input 330 more heavily than other phenomes(e.g., microphone placement may impact some words or phonemes more thanothers). Using hints can comprise weighting some words and/or phenomeshigher than others when making the final classification (e.g., as “good”or “bad”) of the position of the microphone 25. Reiterating from above,the deriving of the phenome input 330 can comprise the computer 42performing a text-to-phoneme decoding or conversion on the text input325, such as with a text-to-phoneme engine or converter, and thecomputer 42 can be configured to provide, and the discriminativeclassifier features 305 can be configured to receive, one or more ofsuch phenomes as inputs of the plurality of inputs. In addition, atleast some of the phenomes can be weighted differently from one another.In accordance with one aspect of this disclosure, the hints can be usedto assign different (e.g., higher) confidence to the discriminativeclassifier-derived values of the approximate position of the mainmicrophone 25 from the user's mouth, which are received at block 525.For example, the one or more phenomes can comprise first and secondphenomes that are different from one another, and the computer 42 and/ordiscriminative classifier features 305 may be configured to weight thefirst and second phenomes differently from one another in theabove-described methods. As a more specific example, the first phenomecan be weighted more heavily than the second phenome, so that, with allother inputs being equal, a first discriminative classifier-derivedvalue of the approximate position of the main microphone 25 from theuser's mouth received at block 525 for the first phenome is weightedmore heavily than a second discriminative classifier-derived value ofthe approximate position of the main microphone 25 from the user's mouthreceived at block 525 for the second phenome, such as during theabove-discussed averaging associated with block 530.

More generally, the computer 42 and/or discriminative classifierfeatures 305 may be configured to weight other inputs differently fromone another in the above-described methods. For example, it is believedthat a first word can be weighted more heavily than a second word, sothat, with all other inputs being equal, a first discriminativeclassifier-derived value of the approximate position of the mainmicrophone 25 from the user's mouth received at block 525 for the firstword is weighted more heavily than a second discriminativeclassifier-derived value of the approximate position of the mainmicrophone 25 from the user's mouth received at block 525 for the secondword, such as during the above-discussed averaging associated with block530. As another example, some conversion from phoneme/number of phonemesmay be mapped to a floating point number in a manner that seeks tooptimize the classification (e.g., as “good” or “bad”) of the positionof the microphone 25.

In one aspect of this disclosure, the supervised training method 200(FIG. 4) is used to create the discriminative classifier model 305 (FIG.5), and the computer 42 utilizes the discriminative classifier model foreach of numerous headset assemblies 10 in a manner that seeks to ensurethat the main microphone 25 of each headset assembly is properlypositioned. For example, numerous of the headset assemblies 10 can beoperated simultaneously, and the computer 42 and discriminativeclassifier model 305 can be configured so that the position-detectingmethod 500 (FIG. 7) is simultaneously performed for each of the headsetassemblies. For each of the headset assemblies 10, theposition-detecting method 500 can be performed during initial orstart-up operations of the headset assembly 10, or at any other suitablerun-time.

Further regarding the one or more, or plurality, of inputs of FIG. 5(e.g., inputs 312, 315, 320, 325, 330), such as at least in the contextof the position-checking method 500 (FIG. 7), in one example the inputscan comprise a recent classification (frequency content) of thebackground noise, input gain (e.g., any gain setting associated with theelectrical audio signal 310), and a fast Fourier transform(FFT)/frequency domain input 315 can be calculated for each word in theutterance/electrical audio signal 310. Accordingly, in one aspect ofthis disclosure, the deriving of one or more inputs for thediscriminative classifier features 305 can comprise calculating a FFT ondata selected from the group consisting of the electrical audio signal310 and data derived from the electrical audio signal 310. Such inputscan be the results of the FFTs and/or derived from results of the FFTs.For example, the computer 42 can be configured to provide, and thediscriminative classifier features 305 can be configured to receive, oneor more Fourier transforms as inputs of the plurality of inputs.

As a further example, a separate FFT can be calculated for each of theframes of each word, for each word the FFT can be saved for each frame,and for each word the FFT for the frames of the word can be averaged.Then for each word, the average FFT, input gain, word identifier, andthe maximum audio or energy level for the word can be passed through thediscriminative classifier model 305 to determine, or as part of a methodto determine, whether the position of the microphone 25 as “good” or“bad”, or the like. The classifying of the position of the microphone 25is “good” or “bad”, or the like, can comprise subjecting the analysis tohysteresis in a manner that seeks to prevent the determination fromquickly oscillating between determinations of “good” and “bad” in anundesirable manner. As another example, a historical database ofselected words and their associated classifications (e.g., as “good” or“bad”, or the like) with respect to the position of the microphone 25can be utilized in a manner that seeks to prevent the system 40 fromrepeatedly classifying the microphone position incorrectly for a givenword just because the specific user differs from the discriminativeclassifier model 305 more for that word.

An aspect of this disclosure is the provision of a system fordetermining a relative position of a microphone. For example, the systemmay be configured for determining an indication of a position of amicrophone relative to a user's mouth, wherein the microphone isconfigured to capture speech audio from the user's mouth, and output anelectrical signal indicative of the speech audio. In a first example,the system comprises a computer, and the computer comprises adiscriminative classifier and a speech recognition module, wherein thecomputer is configured to receive the electrical signal, wherein thediscriminative classifier is configured to receive a plurality ofinputs, and determine an indication of a position of the microphonerelative to the user's mouth based upon the plurality of inputs, andwherein the computer is configured so that an input of the plurality ofinputs is derived from the electrical signal by the computer prior tothe input being received by the discriminative classifier.

A second example is like the first example, except for furthercomprising a headset that comprises the microphone.

A third example is like the second example, except that in the thirdexample the headset comprises a frame, and the microphone is movablyconnected to the frame.

A fourth example is like the first example, except that in the fourthexample the computer is configured to determine whether the determinedindication of the position of the microphone is unacceptable; andprovide a signal in response to any determination by the computer thatthe determined indication of the position of the microphone isunacceptable.

A firth example is like the fourth example, except for furthercomprising a headset, wherein: the headset comprises the microphone; theheadset further comprises a speaker; the speaker is configured toreceive the signal provided by the computer; and the computer isconfigured so that the signal provided by the computer is configured tocause the speaker to provide an audio indication of the position of themicrophone being unacceptable.

A sixth example is like the first example, except that in the sixthexample the computer is configured to provide, and the discriminativeclassifier is configured to receive, at least one Fourier transform asan input of the plurality of inputs.

A seventh example is like the first example, except that in the seventhexample the computer is configured to provide, and the discriminativeclassifier is configured to receive, at least one phenome as an input ofthe plurality of inputs.

To supplement the present disclosure, this application incorporatesentirely by reference the following commonly assigned patents, patentapplication publications, and patent applications:

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In the specification and/or figures, typical embodiments of theinvention have been disclosed. The present invention is not limited tosuch exemplary embodiments. The use of the term “and/or” includes anyand all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. Thefigures are schematic representations and so are not necessarily drawnto scale. Unless otherwise noted, specific terms have been used in ageneric and descriptive sense and not for purposes of limitation.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method for determining a relativeposition of a microphone, the method comprising: capturing speech audiofrom a user's mouth with the microphone so that the microphone outputsan electrical signal indicative of the speech audio; a computer derivinga plurality of inputs from the electrical signal; determining a derivedvalue of an approximate position of the microphone relative to theuser's mouth comprising providing, to a discriminative classifierimplemented on the computer: at least the plurality of inputs and atleast some contextual data, the contextual data originating and/orrepresenting conditions occurring at a time when the speech audio iscaptured; the discriminative classifier comprising a model derived fromtraining data and/or test data, the training data and/or the test datacomprising a manually measured actual position of a microphone relativeto a user's mouth; the computer receiving an output from thediscriminative classifier, the output providing the derived value of theapproximate position of the microphone relative to the user's mouthbased at least in part on the plurality of inputs and the contextualdata; and the computer determining whether the derived value of theapproximate position of the microphone is unacceptable at least in partby comparing the derived value to a value or range indicative of themicrophone being an acceptable distance relative to the user's mouth,and providing a signal to a user if the derived value of the approximateposition of the microphone is unacceptable.
 2. The method of claim 1,comprising the computer calculating a Fourier transformation on dataselected from the group consisting of the electrical signal and dataderived from the electrical signal.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein aninput of the plurality of inputs is derived from results from thecalculating of the Fourier transformation.
 4. The method of claim 1,comprising the computer decoding a phoneme from data selected from thegroup consisting of the electrical signal and data derived from theelectrical signal, wherein an input of the plurality of inputs comprisesthe phoneme.
 5. The method of claim 4, comprising the computer decodingthe phoneme using a text-to-phoneme engine.
 6. The method of claim 1,comprising: deriving first and second inputs of the plurality of inputsfrom the electrical signal; and weighting the first input more heavilythan any weighting of the second input in the discriminative classifier.7. The method of claim 6, comprising providing first and second phenomesthat are different from one another, comprising performingtext-to-phenome conversions, wherein: the first input comprises thefirst phenome; and the second input comprises the second phenome.
 8. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the contextual data comprises at least one ofa gain setting, and/or a classification of background noise.
 9. A methodfor determining a relative position of a microphone, the methodcomprising: capturing speech audio from a user's mouth with themicrophone so that the microphone outputs an electrical signalindicative of the speech audio; determining a derived value of anapproximate position of the microphone relative to the user's mouth,comprising providing a plurality of inputs to a computerizeddiscriminative classifier, the discriminative classifier comprising amodel derived from training data and/or test data, the training dataand/or the test data comprising a manually measured actual position of amicrophone relative to a user's mouth wherein: a first input of theplurality of inputs is derived from the electrical signal, and a secondinput of the plurality of inputs comprises contextual data, thecontextual data originating and/or representing conditions occurring ata time when the speech audio is captured; and an output from thecomputerized discriminative classifier is the derived value of theapproximate position of the microphone relative to the user's mouth, theoutput derived at least in part from the plurality of inputs.
 10. Themethod of claim 9, comprising: a computer determining whether thederived value of the approximate position of the microphone isunacceptable; and the computer providing a signal in response to thecomputer determining that the derived value of the approximate positionof the microphone is unacceptable.
 11. The method of claim 9, comprisinga computer deriving the input from the electrical signal.
 12. The methodof claim 11, comprising calculating a Fourier transformation on dataselected from the group consisting of the electrical signal and dataderived from the electrical signal.
 13. The method of claim 12, whereinthe input comprises results from the calculating of the Fouriertransformation.
 14. The method of claim 12, wherein the input is derivedfrom results from the calculating of the Fourier transformation.
 15. Themethod of claim 11, comprising decoding a phoneme from data selectedfrom the group consisting of the electrical signal and data derived fromthe electrical signal.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein the inputcomprises the phoneme, and the decoding of the phoneme is comprised ofusing a text-to-phoneme engine.
 17. The method of claim 9, comprising:deriving first and second inputs of the plurality of inputs from theelectrical signal; and weighting the first input more heavily than anyweighting of the second input in the computerized discriminativeclassifier.
 18. The method of claim 17, comprising providing first andsecond phenomes that are different from one another, comprisingperforming text-to-phenome conversions, wherein: the first inputcomprises the first phenome; and the second input comprises the secondphenome.
 19. A method for determining a relative position of amicrophone, the method comprising: providing a plurality of inputs to adiscriminative classifier implemented on a computer, the discriminativeclassifier comprising a model derived from training data and/or testdata, the training data and/or the test data comprising a manuallymeasured actual position of a microphone relative to a user's mouth, andthe plurality of inputs comprising: (i) an electrical signal output fromthe microphone in response to the microphone capturing speech audio froma user's mouth while the microphone is at a position relative to theuser's mouth, and/or data derived from the electrical signal; and (ii)contextual data, the contextual data originating and/or representingconditions occurring at a time when the speech audio is captured; thecomputer receiving an output from the discriminative classifier, theoutput providing a derived value of an approximate position of themicrophone relative to the user's mouth, the derived value based atleast in part on the plurality of inputs; and the computer determiningwhether the derived value of the approximate position of the microphoneis unacceptable at least in part by comparing the derived value outputfrom the discriminative classifier to a value or range indicative of themicrophone being an acceptable distance relative to the user's mouth,and providing a signal if the derived value of the approximate positionof the microphone is unacceptable.
 20. The method of claim 19, whereinthe microphone is part of a head set that further comprises a speaker,and the method comprises the speaker providing an audio indication thatthe position of the microphone is unacceptable, wherein the speakerproviding the audio indication is in response to the computer providingthe signal.
 21. The method of claim 19, comprising deriving the inputfrom the electrical signal, wherein the input is selected from the groupconsisting of a Fourier transform and a phenome.